Just a Kid
by FluffyDoom27
Summary: Shinichi and Kaito have both had enough of pretending. Sometimes all one needs is a good friend that they don't have to pretend around. When Conan runs into Kid at the park, Kid decides to follow him home. KaiShin, KaiCo. Slow updates.
1. 1st Nightmare

**I'm kind of nervous to write this, it just kind of happened too. I haven't watched Detective Conan for a bit, I really don't know why I suddenly needed to write this. KaiCo/KaiShin feels appeared out of nowhere? It was weird. I had a dream about them.**

 **I don't own them, either.**

 **WARNINGS: KaiCo/KaiShin, blood, death, cases, SPOILERS and interpretations for the anime up to date, like seriously, there will be some bigger spoilers as the story progresses.**

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

"Shinichi, Shinichi!" Ran reached out, crying. She was always crying, why did he always make her cry?

"Stop!" The Detective ran faster, "Don't follow me!"

She slowed down, eyes widening, a single hand goes to her face, "Do you really not like me that much? All these secrets, all this avoiding… At this point I don't even care if you're Conan, SHINICHI!" The detective turned, shock written all over his face. His eyebrows curved and his teeth clenched.

"Just…" She paused, hiding her tears behind her hands, "Please, I, I can't lose both of you. Please, Shinichi…"

Before he was even consciously aware of it, he headed towards her, hand outstretched. As he got closer he called lightly for her, "Don't cry, Ran."

She grit her teeth, "You, you of all people—have no right to say that to me! If you don't want me to cry then come back already!"

"It's too dangerous!" He yelled, panicking, defending his resolve, "If I came back, you, the old man, the Professor, Haibara, even the Shounen Tantei, they'd all be in danger!"

"I can't risk that!" He screamed, in the corner of his eyes he noticed Gin, gun in hand, aimed at Ran.

"RAN!" He tumbled forward, desperately trying to move her out of the way. But it was too late.

"Shin…ichi…?" Tears rolled down her cheeks as blood splattered from her side. "Co…nan…" Another shot.

The detective ran up to her, too preoccupied with her to even think about taking out the threat first. He felt her pulse, nothing. "DAAAAAMMMMMIIIIIITTT!"

He yelled, turning around to where Gin had been, rage in his eyes, only to see the Shounen Tantei in his place.

"W-what?" He gaped.

Mistuhiko turned to him, gun in hand, "This is all your fault you know. If you hadn't been pretending the whole time, we could have helped you."

"No, I-I didn't mean…" Shinichi tried desperately, searching the four in front of him.

Genta grit his teeth, "After all the meals we shared together, you go and ditch us! Well, fine if that's how it is I wish you were never there from the start."

The elder detective's heart clenched, "I...I'm sorry."

"I was foolish." Haibara spoke up, "It was an impossible task from the start. I shouldn't have let you convince me you could take them on. If I hadn't…"

"No!" Shinichi tried, "It wasn't your fault, you were placed into the position of an organization scientist at a young age. You always knew what to do. You fought back."

"If I had known this would have happened…I should have stayed with them." Haibara finished.

This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening. How could she think that?

"Is it true?" Ayumi spoke up this time, crying, "That you were Conan this whole time?"

He lowered his head shamefully, "I-I couldn't tell you."

"This whole time!" She yelled, "You were a stupid, big, mean adult! You were always just looking down at us, at me!"

"No, of course not." Shinichi looked up fiercely, "I had fun, I was always so amazed at the things you all would come up with. I was never looking down at-"

"Don't lie to me!" She grabbed at the Shounen Tantei badge near her heart, ripping it off, "You hated us the whole time! Put up with us so that you could hide. Well I'm done, I'm done being your shield!" She threw the badge at his feet, and turned around, unable to look at him any longer, sniffling.

Haibara put her hand on Ayumi's shoulder, "Go on Mitsuhiko. There's no point in carrying this on any longer."

Mitsuhiko nodded at her, "R-right…" He cocked the gun, aiming for Shinichi's forehead.

No, no, no! They weren't killers! They couldn't, wouldn't… He had been beside them for so long, sure they had seen more death than any kid their age should ever have to go through, but… That was precisely why he knew that he could never pull the trigger. He just couldn't. It was as he was thinking that last thought that a bullet was lodged dead center in his brain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Conan shot up out of bed, sweat trickling down his forehead. It took him a while before his breathing regulated. He put a hand up to his head. That dream had seemed far too real. Even if the events happening in it weren't all that realistic.

"Bad dream?"

He looked up to see Haibara leaning against the doorframe, scrutinizing him.

He breathed a sigh of relief, "You could say that."

She propped herself the rest of the way up, heading back out, "Don't think about it too much. It wasn't real."

"I know. Thanks, Haibara." He laid back down, trying to get comfortable once again.

"Goodnight." He snorted, wondering if he would be able to go back to sleep after that. It was far too early for that unwelcome wake up call. He probably should have apologized to Haibara for waking her up too. The little Edogawa chuckled to himself at the thought of the Professor sleeping sounding, loudly snoring, undisturbed by his scream.

…

…

…

As the morning lights began to seep through his curtains, he glared. The bags under his eyes would attest that, yes, he had not been able to fall back asleep after that. He sighed, tossing off the covers, and decided he might as well get ready for school since he was up. Not that there was much to get ready, some crayons, a couple finished handouts, his paper textbooks, both his cellphones. He briefly wondered if he could get away with making some coffee before scratching the idea. Even if Haibara wasn't up yet, that didn't mean that once she did wake up she wouldn't be able to tell from the smell. He sighed, of all the reasons he wanted to be in his old body, coffee was pretty close to the top.

About an hour later Haibara had woken and finished getting ready. "Ready?" She asked, putting her shoes on about to go out the door.

"Yeah, let's go." He followed her out the house. Once they got out of the driveway, they saw Ran heading out of her house as well, she noticed them and waved.

"Hey, Conan-kun. Heading off to school?" She smiled.

For a moment he could only picture her from his dreams, two bullets in her side, cold. "Y-yeah, see you Ran-neechan!"

"See you, Conan-kun, Haibara-chan." She waved them off, stepping after them by reflex before shaking her head lightly. Conan sighed at the action, turning to his front. He had told her about his double identity a month ago, it was after that that he offered to stay at the Professor's house instead of hers. She didn't know the full details of everything that went on, or even the existence of the Black Organization, but she knew that he would be in danger if certain people found out that "Shinichi" was still alive. He hadn't told her about Haibara either, but he knew she suspected.

"You okay?" Haibara nudged him.

"Yeah." He frowned, "Just thinking about some stuff."

She smiled a little, "Aren't you always?"

He didn't really have a response for that so he brushed it off. A while later and they got to the classroom, Haibara nudged him once they spotted Ayumi and Genta goofing off at her seat, "Excited for your date?"

"I told you, it's not like that." He sighed, "For one, she's only 7."

"Ara? Are you not 7 as well, Conan-kun?" Haibara mocked, relentlessly.

He glared at her, before heading to his own seat. Ayumi and Genta noticed them come in and waved excitedly before the teacher started the class. Mitsuhiko was home sick and Genta was grounded for the week. That left just him, Haibara, and Ayumi to go on their trip to the Beika park tomorrow. When Haibara realized this, she told them that she had to stay behind to make sure the Professor wouldn't sneak in any junk food. He knew for a fact that she was just staying home so that she could tease him about it later.

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

"Awww, I wish I could go with you two. I hear there's a really good ice cream place over there." Genta complained, still bitter about being grounded.

Ayumi turned to him, admonishingly, "It's your fault you're grounded, Genta-kun. Maybe if you be a good boy we can go again sometime when you're allowed to."

"Yeah, yeah." He griped, "It's just so hard not to think about."

They had stopped at a light and Genta waved goodbye, since he had to go straight home. Ayumi went along with them till they made it to the Professor's. She stayed over for a little bit and locked herself in a room with Haibara, the two of them giggling as they did so. It made Conan more than a little unnerved but he ignored it, knowing that he would find out eventually whether he wanted to or not.

He did his weekend homework and cleaned his room. By the time dinner had come around, Ayumi had headed home. After dinner and some light teasing from Haibara about tomorrow, he took a bath. It wasn't too much longer before he fell asleep, exhausted from the lack of rest this morning. He didn't wake up until it was practically time for him to go, unfortunately he had a similar nightmare tonight as well. He headed out, deciding it would be easier to meet her at her house since it was just the two of them this time.

When he got there, she was just about to leave. She was wearing a very cute red dress with pink flowers on the bottom. She has a matching red headband with pink flowers on both ends of it.

"Is it cute?" She smiled shyly at him.

Conan blushed, "Yeah, it is." Though she was 7, he thought to himself. It was seconds later and he wasn't the least bit flustered anymore, feeling a little bad for her. He was kind of dressed up too in the sense that he was wearing a suit. It was countered by the fact that it was the suit he always wore. But Ayumi didn't seem to mind at all. They got on a train to get to Beika station, Ayumi was bouncing happily at the prospect of going to the park there. As they rode, they talked about a lot of things and pretty soon he found out that the dress was Haibara's idea. He sighed at this, wondering how far she was going to take this joke, or if she was actually rooting for them to get together. He highly doubted that.

They hung out at the park for a while before happily getting a strawberry and vanilla ice cream from a vender.

"This is so good!" Ayumi beamed, licking her strawberry ice cream contentedly.

"Well, nothing like the ice cream place that Genta was talking about earlier, but it's still ice cream." Conan offered.

"Hehehe!" She giggled happily.

He smiled, not entirely sure why she was so happy, but Ayumi often was. It was nice. They finished their ice cream and headed over to the playground. Ayumi went on all the slides and monkeyed through the monkey bars. For the most part, Conan just stayed near her or would hang out by the swings, keeping an eye on her. Soon she joined him on the swings, happily chatting about how fun it was.

"Are you having fun too, Conan-kun?" She wasn't the least bit careful with her dress as she swung, as many 7 year olds tended to not be.

While Ayumi was racing as fast as she could go, Conan opted to just lightly push himself, "Yeah, I'm having fun."

She giggled again excitedly, "Hey, race you to the top!"

"You're already at the top." He deadpanned.

"Then whoever can swing highest wins!" She didn't wait for Conan to catch up, or even slow down so that they started on even playing fields. Instead, she kicked off the ground as hard as she could with her flip flops.

"Hey, hey, no fair!" Conan laughed, charging in after her. He started to wonder when he first began to have so much fun with all the childish things the Shounen Tantei did. He was almost tempted to use his special shoes just to catch up, it's not like she played fair either, after all. But, that wouldn't be much of a challenge. As he went forward, he pulled back on the chains, once he got to the middle, he stretched his legs to give him a quick kick off the ground, and when he went back, he pushed the chains away. Years of swinging did give one a slight advantage.

It was right when he caught up to her that she kicked off especially hard, trying to lose him. The swing rattled and turned to the side, flinging her from her seat, "Ahhhhhhh!"

"AYUMI!" He jumped out, trying to reach her, despite knowing that he wouldn't make it in time.

Just as she was about to hit the ground, a puff of smoke appeared in front of her. Conan blinked in surprise, he knew that smoke. But why would it be here? It didn't make sense. He ignored it in favor of making sure Ayumi was okay.

"Woah, woah, that was a close one." A voice that seemed fairly familiar stated. As the puff of smoke dissipated, it became clear that Ayumi was not by herself anymore. She was in the arms of…Conan blinked. No way… The person holding Ayumi looked just like him! And with that smoke…

"Ahhh! That was so cool!" Ayumi squealed as the boy set her down.

"Kid…?" He said, more in flat out surprise than any kind of contempt.

The boy turned to him, recognition filling his eyes before his poker face returned, "Kid magician extraordinaire, you mean."

Conan snorted, riiiiiiiight, two could play at this game, "You're a magician? I mean it would only make sense, coming from Kaitou-"

"-Kuroba! Kaito Kuroba at your service." Kid bowed in a grand gesture. Before sending a half-hearted glare to Conan. Conan blinked, before mentally shrugging it off. It's not like this was a heist, and it didn't seem he was lying about his name. Not to mention the reason he knew Kid looked like him was because he had been helping him out. He had to admit though, he was really surprised he used his name. Part of him wanted to go home and look it up to make sure it was real. The other part wanted to tuck it away in a corner of his mind and pretend he had never heard it.

Ayumi blinked up at him, "You're not Shinichi-oniisan?"

Conan sent an accusatory glare at Kid, he had pretended to be him in front of Ayumi? Why? Oh, right. He sweat dropped, remembering discovering all the counterfeit art in the Artemis's Tear heist.

"Nope! Just plain old Kaito." He took a step back.

"Hmmmm…" Ayumi looked at his face closely. Well as close as a 7 year old could be looking at a teenager's face from the ground, "You look just like him though."

"Arere?" Conan piped in, looking at Kid with a faux air of discovering something he hadn't before, "But I think Shinichi-oniisan's eye color was slightly different. Not only that, but his hair is messier than Shinichi-oniisan's."

Kaito glared at him for a second, "Oi, oi." He sighed, letting the insult slide in favor for being helped out. His hair was still cooler though!

"Ah…" Ayumi smiled at Conan, "I guess you're right." She put her hand to her chin, wondering about the eye color bit for a second, they seemed the same to her, but Conan was good at noticing details and she trusted him.

"Where are your parents?" Kid asked Ayumi.

Ayumi's eyes brightened, as if she had been waiting for someone to ask, "They're at home! It's a date because we came here by ourselves. See?" She twirled in her dress before grabbing Conan's arm, "Don't we look cute?"

"Eh…?!" Conan blanched, "It's not a date, Ayumi. We were planning to come here with the others too, remember?"

"Yeah but they didn't come so it's a date!" She grinned.

"Is not." He sighed.

"Is so." This was getting nowhere, so he decided to let the subject drop. He didn't fail to notice to that the amusement in the thief's eyes didn't drop, for that matter.

Kaito laughed, patting Conan on the head, "You should be more careful on dates you know, it doesn't seem very cool to play so hard that your girlfriend gets hurt."

"G-girlfriend?!" Conan sputtered, "She's not my—"

"Girlfriend!" Ayumi's eyes sparkled, giggling to herself at the prospect. She lowered her gaze, embarrassedly sneaking glances at Conan. Conan sighed. Why did everyone that knew about him tease him like this? Didn't they know they were only going to get her hopes up? He was going to have to grow up one of these days, and like it or not he wouldn't be her little Conan anymore. He felt like one of the only people that didn't brush her off just because she was young. Well, mentally anyway. Dating her was out of the question, obviously.

He sighed and grabbed her hand, "Let's go Ayumi."

"O-okay." She blushed, happily following him, before turning partially away to wave, "Bye Kaito-oniisan!"

"Bye, bye!" He waved once before turning into a puff of smoke. Conan rolled his eyes at the action, while Ayumi was awed.

"He disappeared!" She was so surprised that she stopped walking.

Conan looked behind him, he knew that they were being watched, he was still there. He had a feeling he was just going to follow him for the rest of the day anyway if they stayed here. So he thought now would be as good of a time as any to head back. He tugged Ayumi lightly towards him, "Let's go home, Ayumi."

She nodded, following him again. He had expected the thief to stop following them once he got on the train back home, but he could still feel those eyes. It was unnerving to say the least. He opened the door to the Professor's house, guiding Ayumi in. When he went in himself, he was surprised to see Ran and the Professor sitting in the living room.

"Ah! Ran-oneechan!" Ayumi went up to her in greeting.

"It's been a while, right Ayumi-chan?" Ran smiled at her, hands politely on her lap.

Ayumi nodded, "Yeah, ever since Conan-kun moved here, we haven't seen you as much. You should visit more!"

Ran chuckled, "Maybe you should be the ones visiting me more."

It took a little longer for Conan to take his shoes off, since he had sneakers, he couldn't just toss them off like Ayumi did with her flip flops. Once he did, he went up to meet the rest of them in the living room.

"Ran-neechan!" Conan ran up to her excitedly, all the air of a little brother not having seen his older sister for a while exuding from him, "What are you doing here?"

He noticed a distinct pause in her actions when he addressed her. She still wasn't used to him, "I came by to give the Professor some of your clothes and books. I finally got around to cleaning out the closet and found some of your stuff."

Hmmmmm. Conan thought, wondering what she could have brought. They had probably been talking about him, he deduced. Well, the older him, anyway.

"Ran-kun and I were just talking about you." The Professor advised, confirming Conan's suspicions. It was at that moment that Haibara decided to come down the stairs. Once she got near the couch, she froze, eyes widening in horror.

"Ai-chan?" Ayumi went up to her, "Are you okay?"

Haibara shook her head, "Yeah, sorry, just thinking." He was tempted to tell Kid to fuck off about now, knowing that him watching them was what set her on edge. She was really sensitive to that kind of thing, even more than he was.

"…" Ayumi looked at her for a bit, unsure.

"Enough about me," Haibara smiled, "I'm curious about how your date went today."

The Professor and Ran both turned to her quizzically, while Ayumi bounded up excitedly.

"It was soooo cool Haibara-chan! I wish you could have seen it!" She smiled giddily, too excited to realize that if Haibara had been there then it wouldn't have been just her and Conan.

"He came to pick me up at my house, and said I was cute before we headed to Beika Park. When we got there, he bought me ice cream and we played on the playground before having a swinging competition!" She beamed.

Haibara, Ran, and the Professor all turned to Conan in surprise. Ran sent him a questioning look, Haibara smirked while the Professor laughed, "My, it sounds like you two had a fun time today."

"Yeah! And that's not even the best part! We ran into a magician who looked just like Shinichi-oniisan. He appeared out of thin air to save me, it was sooooo cool. And then we came here holding hands." She smiled.

Conan blushed at the gazes on him, scratching the back of his head lightly. He knew Ayumi would tell Haibara about it, but he didn't expect such a large audience. Or to be present when they talked. He really needed to clear things up with Ayumi soon. Ran gave him a strange look that he couldn't interpret before turning to Ayumi, "What was the magician's name?"

"Oh, um…" Ayumi blinked, she had been rather distracted when he introduced himself…what was it…Shinichi was all she could think…but she vaguely remembered referring to him as Kaito…"I think it was Kaito. I don't remember his last name." She finally decided, remembering saying goodbye to 'Kaito-oniisan' and nothing more.

"Hmmm," Ran turned to Conan, "Do you remember his name, Conan-kun?"

Eh… Conan gulped, Ran seemed mad for some reason. He didn't do anything though, why was she so upset? She knew that there was no way he would forget either, so why had she phrased the question like that? "E-eh, I don't really remember…" He lied, knowing that she knew he had lied. Ah, why was life difficult?

"I see." She stated, slightly bitter.

"Well now," The Professor put his hands in front of him, palms out, "I'm sure he has his reasons, Ran-kun."

She dutifully ignored him, before sighing, "It was nice talking to you, Hakase, Ayumi, Haibara." She grabbed her bag before making her way out. It was a rather sudden exit, and he couldn't help but be annoyed at how she purposely left him out of her goodbye. Whatever, he grumbled silently to himself before heading off to his room to sulk a bit.

He noticed a box on his bed as he entered and figured this must be the box of stuff Ran brought over for him. He went over to it and opened it, on the very top of stuff in the box was a volume of Sherlock Holmes. He flipped it over in his hands, brightening up at the prospect. He didn't feel the need to sulk so much anymore. Now he just felt bad. Also watched, he scowled looking directly at the window before unpacking the rest of the box. Let the thief watch all he wants, he has nothing to hide. Not from him, anyway.

Ayumi stayed behind to talk to Haibara and the Professor. He could hear her exaggerating about little parts of the trip more and more as time went on. Eventually she went home, and he went out to have dinner with Ai and the Professor. Haibara immediately grilled him to find out who was watching them. She had noticed, as he had suspected. He told her not to worry about it too much, and when he got back to his room he threw a pillow at the window in aggravation. Fine. Do what you want, Kid. It's not like he could watch him forever.

A week of stalking later he had realized that he was wrong. After school he would be watched directly, during it, he was watched by pigeons with cameras. He felt like the stress was going to drive him crazy. Not to mention Haibara was about to blow a casket, and she wasn't even the one being targeted. It got to the point where Haibara felt uncomfortable walking to and from school with him and started leaving at a different time than him. One of his closest friends was avoiding him and he didn't like it one bit. Especially since he knew that it was entirely Kid's fault. After the first week, Kid had started only watching him every other day. So he was recorded practically 24/7 by birds. They were well trained, he had to give Kid that.

It was after a full two weeks of stalking that Conan finally had had enough. He opened his window one night when he felt the magician's own presence, "Hey, Kid, can we talk?" He meant to sound more annoyed, but this was pretty much the first time he sought the guy out for reasons other than using him, helping him, or sending him to jail. It was a complicated relationship.

A moment of consideration later, and the Kid appeared behind him, fully clothed in his Heist outfit.

"Hey…" He started, uncomfortable.

Conan sighed, turning around and shutting the window, "You don't have to wear that you know, I already know what you look like." He noticed how the thief looked at the shut window. He looked venerable, scared. It was weird seeing the confident thief like this. He decided to open the window back up and watched as the thief visibly relaxed. Why the world renowned thief felt better about an open window, only he himself would know.

The thief shifted feet, before instantaneously changing outfits, the only part of his outfit that he kept on being his monocle, "Sorry, habit." He sat down on the floor, cross-legged.

Conan matched his movement to sit on the edge of his bed. It was funny, he thought, that he and Kid were about the same height this way. He let out an annoyed breath, "Mind telling me why you suddenly decided to stalk me?"

Kid looked away, "You know my name, I can't just leave you alone anymore."

"So that really was your name." He glared, unable to pretend he didn't remember anymore, he continued, "Because of you, my friend's been avoiding me."

"Haibara?" Kaito supplied, it only felt slightly creepy that he knew who he was talking about. Then again, 2 weeks of stalking was far creepier anyway, "Why?"

"She's extremely sensitive to being watched." Conan frowned.

"So are you." The magician twirled a coin in the air, "Or so I've noticed."

One of his eyes twitched, if he knew, then why was he being so annoying? He sighed, aggravated, "Look, I'm not going to sell you out, so can you please leave me alone already? Why did you say your name in the first place if it was going to be like this?"

The thief took a moment to look down, "I don't regret it." He looked up at Conan, "It was a bit of an impulse, but I had considered it before. I guess it was only a matter of time before I told you. What I wasn't prepared for was how I would feel after. I constantly feel like you're going to tell someone. That you'd be happy to finally get rid of me, to put me behind bars. I don't want everything we've worked for to be ruined just because I was feeling selfish."

"I still don't get it though, why?" Conan peered into his eyes, tired. He didn't feel like telling the stalker in question that it felt so much better to be talking to him face to face than it did to be watched from afar.

"I…" Kid tucked the quarter away, before some cards appeared in his hands, he began hand shuffling them, trying to calm his nerves, "I was hoping we could be friends."

Conan briefly wondered what his own friends would think of him, a famous detective, inviting the Kaitou Kid into his room to talk about the possibility of being friends. He smiled bitterly at the thought of a livid Hattori yelling at him about how wrong that was. He thought about Ran being mad that he would trust a thief with his secrets over her, and how Haibara would think he was being ridiculously stupid. Honestly, he really enjoyed the thief's heists. They were a nice break from murders and the Black Organization. Well, most of the time. It was nice to have someone he could be himself around. It wasn't just that though, he would be lying if he had said the thief hadn't saved him on countless occasions. Not to mention that his heart was always in the right place. And that was something, considering he was a thief. It was ironic, he thought. That this thief wanted to be a detective's friend bad enough to risk his freedom. Even if Kid hadn't been watching him, he didn't think he would have ratted him out, not after all they'd been through.

It might have been precisely that that led him to say what came out of his mouth next, "I thought we were already friends."

What he wasn't prepared for was the thief's signature grin. It seemed especially warm right now, "Is that what you call someone you chase around to put behind bars now? Hakuba would certainly have a problem with that." He seemed to be laughing at some inside joke, why he would tell an inside joke when he was the only one who would get it? Conan felt like he understood it pretty well, actually. He was inviting him into his normal life by sharing about people he knew.

"Wait, Hakuba?" Conan blinked, "Isn't he that big shot detective that used to always solve tough cases before he started to focus on you?"

Kid grinned, "I think he's the only one who thinks he's a big shot, well him and Aoko, ugh." He grimaced, as if wiping something gross from his mouth.

Conan smiled lightly, it was pretty nice. He could tell that the magician wasn't completely comfortable yet, but he seemed more anxious than nervous. It was a nice, if sudden change. It was an incredibly foreign feeling, hearing about Kid's personal life. He looked back at his pillow, feeling more than a little ready for sleep.

Kaitou noticed, and grinned at him, teleporting in front of him, he rubbed his hair, "Little kids should be in bed by now, huh?"

Conan glared, unable to help the "I'm not a kid." remark that left his lips in protest.

The thief smiled, his hand leaving his hair, "I know. See ya, Shinichi." He whispered, leaving through the window and shutting it behind him, no smoke, no theatrics. It was comforting. He put a hand to where he was patted. He didn't want to admit how nice it had been to hear Kid say his name. But it was really nice.

He lay down in his bed, adrenaline pumping at the possibilities. He had had so few encounters with the thief, and when he did they were usually very short. Not to mention nowhere near as open. With no one watching him he fell asleep really fast. It was a much needed sleep that he was more than a little thankful for.

It was the first night for a long, long time, that he didn't have a nightmare.

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

 **I hope I can continue this story well. Thanks for reading!**


	2. 2nd Illusion

**So, you get to see quite a bit of Kaito's feelings in this chapter. This chapter is mainly from Kaito's POV, enjoy.**

 **Warning: Magic Kaito 1412 spoilers in this chapter!**

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

Kaito sighed, turning over and sighing once more. This was the first time he's woken up early in a while, well aside from when Aoko wakes him up at ungodly hours. Getting up, he closed the blinds to stop the morning rays from peeking through. As much as he liked light, his eyes were still adjusting to being open, and not surrounded by darkness. He didn't normally do tricks with no audience, but he was feeling good today so with a small puff of smoke, he had his uniform on. He grabbed his bag and practically skipped down the stairs. Shoving his shoes on, he opened the front door and basked in the morning air.

"No cops, huh?" He headed off to his neighbor's house, entering the house with a small "Pardon the intrusion."

He could hear sounds coming from the kitchen, so Aoko got up early too? Well, maybe this wasn't early for her. Crazy girl. He took off his shoes casually and slipped into the kitchen, silently gliding up behind Aoko. His hand crept up behind her, closer, closer, annnnnnnd "Booo!" He grabbed her shoulders simultaneously and she ended up dropping an egg in surprise, which Kaito easily caught.

"B-b-bakaito!" She grabbed the egg out of his hand angrily, "At least say something before barging into my house!"

Kaito put up his hands in his defense, "Sorry, sorry, I'll be louder next time."

"Eh?" Aoko blinked, he apologized pretty fast, "Well, as long as you're sorry."

"I am, really." Kaito chuckled as he turned to sit down at the table, pulling out his phone to look up any news about Kaito Kid. Nothing online, either. That brat really didn't say anything. His stance relaxed, any possible weigh left lifted from his heart. This was going to be a good day. Would it be bad to visit the little detective 2 days after he agreed to be friends? What about 2 days after he stopped 24/7 surveillance? Pffft, he hoped Shinichi wouldn't hate him, but he was really excited and was already considering popping by his house after school. He did leave him alone for the rest of his weekend, that was good enough, right?

"What are you so happy about?" Aoko questioned, "I mean, you even got up early, what's up with that?"

Kaito looked up at her, breaking out of his thoughts, "Heh, wouldn't you like to know?"

Aoko huffed, "Geez this better not be one of your pranks again."

"Not pranks, magic." Kaito corrected, a playful tint to his eyes, "Magic that a lot of the class enjoys."

"I don't think gas-induced laughter means anyone's particularly having fun." She waved a spatula in the air as she crack an egg over the skillet in front of her.

Kaito beamed, "Why Aoko, are you accusing me of using laughing gas?" He put a hand to his face, hyperbolizing his wounded pride, "But that would be illegal! Surely you don't think that I would break the law!"

Aoko sighed, "I-I don't even feel like responding to that right now Mr. Break and Enter."

"Hey, I didn't break anything." He paused, eyes lighting up, "Well, not today, anyway. Probably."

"Geez…You shouldn't be breaking things ever."

Aoko and Kaito both looked up at the new voice to see Inspector Nakamori entering the kitchen. He glanced between the two of them, Aoko was making breakfast as normal, Kaito on the other hand was bouncing in his seat, "What? Did something good happen?"

"You could say that." Kaito offhandedly dodged. The three of them settled into their normal morning routines. After breakfast Nakamori went off to work griping about some random thing Kid did while Aoko and Kaito headed off to school. The day started off fairly normal, or what was normal at schools without Kaito in them. No pranks happened for the first few hours of the class, making the class feel on edge. After lunch, class was the exact opposite, paint, confetti, ribbons, and school supplies flew around the room almost mystically. Some desks did 360s with their owners still sitting in them, others turned around to face the other side of the room, where the teacher was teaching about music instead of history. Aoko eventually cut Kaito off and yelled at him for disturbing the class. He seemed to honestly feel bad which was weird to her. At further prompting he responded that he couldn't help it, he was antsy, excited and couldn't hold still. This made her really curious, but as if for the sole purpose of aggravating her, he wouldn't tell her why. When class finally ended, she turned to see if Kaito was ready to head home only to find an empty desk.

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

Kaito was already in Beika and considering where he should go to meet the boy. From what he'd seen of his after school life, most of the time the detective boys would get side tracked and hang out somewhere else for a while before splitting off and going home. They would often hang out at the Professor's house, since Conan and Haibara currently lived there. He guessed that the Professor's house was probably his best bet. The question now was who should he go as? An older girl? No, he wanted to be able to hang out with Shinichi, not have people questioning why a grown woman was always hanging around someone else's kid. Kudo Shinichi would be a fun disguise that wouldn't be questioned too much, what with Conan and him seemingly sharing everything. Then again he didn't know who all knew about Conan being Shinichi and didn't want to have to deal with the complications. He also didn't know why Shinichi was Conan in the first place, he might be in hiding.

After a bit more thought on the subject, he landed in front of a silly looking house he recognized as the Professor's. His uniform shining through in full glory, messy head of hair on his head, backpack lazily hanging off one shoulder, he rang the doorbell.

He heard unlatching and as the door opened, he noticed only one pair of shoes at the entrance. Shinichi wasn't home yet. He'd be here eventually-that is if he didn't get stuck in a case somewhere, which was pretty plausible, with his luck.

"Shinichi?" The Professor asked, wide-eyed, "When did you—"

"Eh? Shinichi?" Kaito cut him off, "I think you have me confused with someone else, my name's Kuroba Kaito. I'm looking for Conan-kun, I was told he lived here?"

The Professor's brows met, he scratched the back of his head with one hand, "Ah, of course. I'm Hiroshi Agasa, it's nice to meet you Kaito-kun."

"Likewise." The magician pulled two strings quickly as some doves flew up in greeting. Confetti popped up as the Professor's face lit up in recognition.

"Stunning." The Professor clapped at the display, marveling as the confetti disappeared in little puffs of smoke. "You must be the magician who helped Ayumi-kun a few weeks ago, here come inside."

Kaito took a peek past the door, "Don't mind if I do." He hummed, following him in.

"Conan-kun should be home from school soon, did you want something to drink while you wait?" The Professor bowed lightly in apology.

"No, I'm good." He sat down on the guest couch, taking in his surroundings. Sure he'd seen the place before, but an inside look like this was rare. Agasa told him he would text Conan so that he knew he had a guest waiting at home. Agasa waited with him for a few minutes before heading off into the kitchen to get some snacks.

Hmmm, Kaito hummed, looking at a picture on one of the bookshelves. It was a picture of the Detective Boys. It looked ridiculous, Ayumi was looking at Conan, Mitsuhiko was looking at Haibara, Genta was smiling widely at the camera, and Conan and Haibara were looking anywhere but. They had hats hiding their faces and jackets over their figures, a single Detective Boy pin on each of their jackets. Haibara had her hood bunched up, and Conan had his hand holding his hat down. There was snow all around them and they looked overly cheerful. He could see a round shape to the side and figured Agasa must have clumsily taken the photo, his thumb barely in the image. It was a wreck of a photo, that's for sure. But, at the same time, it looked fun.

And it really got him thinking. Why was Shinichi in grade school? What was he hiding from? Did he really hate being Conan that much, or was it just that he missed the relationships that Shinichi had? Why was he so cautious? Who is that Haibara girl? Even if he could be seen as Shinichi again, would it be safe for him? Who could his enemy be if not Snake and the others? Why did…this place feel so lonely…?

His ears twitched, he shifted his head in an unconscious motion. Resounding footsteps from a short distance away. 3 o'clock position from the entrance, running. One person, a kid. He could feel his grin already rising, immediately recognizing the familiar sound. He'd heard it all so often at heists. That one special guest, chasing to catch the thief before he got away. Sometimes he would wait for him. Sometimes he was the one waited for. It was always the same rushed footsteps. Shinichi was here.

As the door was hastily opened he briefly considered doing a little magic trick before shoving that idea away. He didn't want to make him madder, after all. His grin fell a little bit at the look on Conan's face as he tore off his shoes and headed towards him.

"Hey, Conan-kun." He smiled, knowing that the Professor knew Conan's identity, but not wanting to give away that 'Kuroba Kaito' knew too. A look of hurt flashed through Shinichi's eyes momentarily, making him instantly regret it.

"What are you _doing_?" Conan seethed, gesturing to the whole of the man in front of him.

"What?" Kid frowned, "Is it really so weird to visit a friend afterschool?"

A ragged breath escaped from Conan, before he shook his head. He grabbed Kid's sleeve, "Come on." Kid complied, following Conan to his room, watching as Conan shut the door.

"It doesn't matter to me so much what you do with your free time, but—"Conan grimaced, "You can't just wander into the homes of 'Shinichi's friends. Ran's confused enough as it is, and I'm pretty sure she knows that Kid looks just like me. It wouldn't take any time at all for her to put two and two together. Haibara's incredibly smart, and even if she doesn't realize you're Kid, she might notice other things. You're being careless, it's one thing to visit, and it's another to do it in broad daylight with no disguise."

Kid lowered his gaze, he'd expected the scolding, "Is it really so much to ask?"

Conan's brows furrowed, what was the thief getting at now? "Is what so much to ask?"

"For me to just be myself. I want do things, hang out, and be spontaneous— around you." Kid popped his hat and monocle on, an unconscious defense mechanism, "Besides, your friend had already introduced me, I thought it would be a good chance. I wouldn't need too much of an excuse. I'm just someone who wanted to see the reckless kids that I got along with at the park."

They could hear the front door open and Kid knew the footsteps belonged to Haibara Ai, she went into the kitchen and started talking to the Professor. He knew that Shinichi had noticed too. At this point in time he decided he didn't particularly care what they were talking about, at the same time he figured he would be the topic at hand and his recent careless behavior was getting to him. He also knew that he was more scared of the little detective in front of him rejecting him more than he was of getting his cover blown. That in itself was an entirely new form of scary. He hadn't noticed when during heists he'd started to look forward to the kid showing up. Even when his tricks were completely discovered, when he figured every little part to it, the smile he would adorn after the trick finally made sense…made him feel just as happy as if he had awed the entirety of Japan.

He's been desperate since he outed himself as Kuroba Kaito, Phantom Thief. He knew he must seem strange, and that magic tricks weren't supposed to be found out. At the same time, he felt happiest when in a battle of wits with Shinichi, even when he would lose…it would be fun, so _so_ much fun. He knew he should be hiding his true feelings, but he was tired. He didn't want to put forth a Poker Face with this particular rival. Not now.

Conan seemed to be thinking his words over with a large amount of consideration. He looked disturbed, oh god. A puff later and Kid's cloak was draped over his shoulders. He felt sick. He could see the gears moving through Shinichi's mind. What was he thinking so hard about? It was like he was peering through him. Stop it.

"Why aren't you saying anything…?" Kid supplied at last, bending down to Conan's level, unable to stand there any longer being scrutinized.

"I see." Conan's eyes gleamed like he'd just figured out a puzzle, solved something about this situation that he'd been previously stumped on like he would solve any old case of his. "Sorry, I didn't realize how much this meant to you. You've really needed someone to talk to for some time now, haven't you? I'm here, I'll listen." He reached his hand out, hesitating as he reached the monocle, Kid's own hand reached up, stopping it from going further.

Conan smiled, hand partially resting on his face, it was soothing, "It's okay." Shinichi took the monocle away from his face, staring right at him, "We'll do things your way. No more hiding. I got it."

Kid dropped his arm to the side, where the monocle was set. He brushed his fingers around the edges softly. Had he really just seen completely through him with a glance? Why was he being so nice to him? A warm fuzzy feeling spread through the pit of his stomach.

Conan headed around him, going to the door. In an instant, Kid had grabbed the back of his shirt, grip loose. Conan paused, putting a hand on the handle, "I'll be right back, I'm just going to go tell Haibara and the Professor not to worry, the Professor sent a rather alarming text to me, you know. He thought you were an enemy."

An enemy, huh… Kid let go of Conan's shirt, letting him go. He hid his hat, monocle and cape just as Conan opened the door. Was it warmth or emptiness that grabbed a hold of him right now, he wondered. He wanted him to hurry back. Kaito curled up into a ball, back facing the door. It's been so long since their first meeting, when his interest was first piqued. He remembered thinking the kid was observant, then annoying…after that, he was a challenge. An audience member that was involved, that noticed all the little details in his shows. When had he changed from thinking of him as a hurdle to thinking of him as a goal? He wanted to know everything about him, share everything with him. He didn't know if Shinichi felt the same. Shinichi…Kid thought the name to himself, feeling a surge of intimacy. He was so happy when Shinichi asked him to call him by his name. He knew it meant something else to the detective in question than it did to him, but that in itself was also a connection.

He really wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation in the other room, but he knew he should stay put for now. Shinichi and that Haibara girl would both notice him immediately anyway. The urge wouldn't go away. Kaito found himself do minor magic tricks, they calmed him. A coin flipping between different floating cards, light angled on reflective coatings on the backs of them leaving displays of color bouncing off the walls. The coin dancing in between the lights, causing whole new color schemes to show in small bursts. Once a new color showed up, it would stay in the reflections, shimmying up to old and new colors alike. The hues building upon each other, Kaito could hear Conan coming up to the door, his step was different—he was probably carrying something. Kaito moved out of the way of the door and sat below the window. He continued with his trick, wanting to see Shinichi's reaction to it.

The door opened up and he could hear the pause before he saw it. Shinichi's mouth opened a little bit, taking in the whole of the room before shutting the door behind him. He set a plate of snacks on his bed off to the side, ignoring them in place of going closer to the cards. His eyes followed the lights as they widened slowly. He bent down in front of Kaito, looking directly at the cards and coin, trying to figure out the trick behind the flowing lights.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Kaito asked, grinning at Shinichi's wonder.

"Pretty cool?" Shinichi looked up at Kaito's face at this, shaking his head at the notion, "It's beautiful."

Kaito could feel the tint of pink in his cheeks, his eyes closed at the compliment, when he opened them the trick seemed all the more magical. Shinichi had called it beautiful, and it was. The sudden impulse to impress him further had him adding small mirrors to the edges of the spinning cards, making it look as if they were being held up by the light itself. The most satisfying thing in the world was aweing an audience. This audience of one happened to be his favorite.

Conan reached out to touch one of the cards, "Can I…?" He let the question fall off the end of the sentence, too distracted to bother picking it back up.

"Go ahead." The magician allowed.

Conan grabbed the card, surprised to be met with no resistance. It was as if it wasn't held up by anything and was just floating in the air, waiting for him to grab it before gravity could affect it once more. He turned the card around, examining it thoroughly. Kid could see him figuring the trick out, second by second. The weird thing he found, was that he didn't particularly mind. He wanted to see what he would find. It was a little while later that that know it all grin spread over Shinichi's face, confirming that he had solved the riddle. He set the card back where he grabbed it from, it fell for just a moment before seeming to catch itself. Conan went to his bed, grabbing the plate of snacks before heading back.

"I would offer these to you if I didn't think it would mess up your trick." Conan sat down in front of him, putting the plate down, the only thing separating them being the floating cards and coin between them.

Kaito grinned, "You underestimate me, Tantei-kun." He made a show of grabbing a cracker in each of his hands, before chomping on them happily.

Conan blinked at him, before shaking his head lightly, "It never fails to amaze me how dexterous your fingers are."

"Who said I was using my fingers?" Kid joked, having too much fun with the person in front of him.

"What?" Shinichi looked around the display. There was no way he wasn't directing the cards around, with the way they interacted to outside stimuli. Other parts of his body would be too obvious with their movements, and it couldn't be with his toes since he was wearing socks, unless… "You're joking right? If you're not using your fingers, I'll give you my entire collection of Sherlock Holmes books."

"Heh." Kaito chuckled, "I might be using my fingers a little bit."

"Of course." Shinichi grabbed a cracker with cheese on it, content with being partially right. For now.

Confident brat, "So how'd it go?" Kaito gestured to the door and to the plate of food.

"Oh them?" Shinichi shrugged, "Haibara knew immediately that you were the one watching us, so she was mad at the Professor for letting you in the house. Because of that they both know that you know my real identity. They also know that you know that they know so you really don't need to pretend I'm Conan around them. I told them that you're my friend and pretty much left it at that. Haibara made me tell her who you were and I told her that you really were Kuroba Kaito. She's definitely going to look into you, just so you know."

Dang, that girl is intense, Kaito made a face. She reminded him of a paranoid Hakuba. Well, he didn't think that the people who were trusted with Shinichi's secret would rat on him if they did find out…Then again… he thought back to a certain heist on a blimp where he told Ran he was Shinichi. She _had_ tried to convince him to turn himself in, and that was when she thought he was Shinichi. If she knew that he was hanging out with Conan, she would probably send the task force after the one and only Kuroba Kaito just to make sure Conan wasn't being negatively influenced.

"Does the Mouri girl know?" Kaito asked suddenly.

Shinichi blinked, "Huh? Uh, about you being Kid, no. About me being Shinichi, yes. Though I'm pretty sure if she meets you that she'll realize you're Kid."

Kaito mulled the thought over for a bit. How she'd been treating him _had_ seemed strange recently. So she knew… "You told her, huh?" He thought about Aoko and how she would react upon discovering that her friend was the Kid who'd been driving her dad up the wall for years. He never wanted her to find out. Ever.

"Yeah, it was… something I should have told her a long time ago. She can't see us as the same person, you know? Conan and Shinichi are different to her. We spent too much time together, she knows that we're the same person, it's just…" He left off, not sure how to put the thought to words.

"Complicated?" Kaito supplied.

Shinichi snorted, "You could say that. I don't blame her for it, I can be both Conan and Shinichi for her. No matter how I look on the outside, she'll always see bits of the other me on the inside. I think it's the most complicated set up I've ever witnessed. Only I'm a part of it."

As much as Kaito felt he understood, he also knew he didn't. He was jealous that Shinichi could tell his childhood friend about himself, however he also empathized with the lonely outcome. There was just no winning for people with double identities.

"Hattori on the other hand is the exact opposite." Shinichi continued, making Kaito picture the Detective of the West's face, "No matter how badly I need people to think that I'm just Conan, he'll blurt out 'Kudo' every time he mentions me. It's really comforting to know that he sees me as myself all the time, but sometimes I just want to hit him and see if that'll keep his mouth shut for once. Sometimes he even points out similarities between 'Conan' and 'Shinichi' to defend why he accidentally calls 'Conan' Kudo…And he knows that Kudo's supposed to be dead."

Kaito grimaced, "Dead? Why are you pretending about something like that?"

Shinichi frowned, "The pill that shrank me was meant to kill me. I stumbled upon a bad deal going on between some of the members. They decided to test a new poison on me that ended up shrinking me instead of killing me. They never found the body of Kudo Shinichi, but they think he's dead. If they find out that I'm still alive, but shrunken, not just me but Haibara, Ran, the Professor, everyone close to me will be in danger. Because a body was never found and because I occasionally help on cases as 'Shinichi', my friends all know I'm alive, but they all know not to tell anyone that I was a part of any of the cases."

"The guys after you sound just as bad as the ones after me…" Kid looked off to the side.

"You mean the guys who keep trying to shoot you at your bigger heists?" Shinichi questioned, causing Kid's eyebrows to go up a bit in surprise.

"You knew?"

"Well, it wasn't hard to figure out. I don't really get why they're targeting Kid though. The only thing I can think of is that you saw something you shouldn't have, or they're worried you will find something they're looking for." Shinichi put a hand to his chin, deep in thought.

Kaito laughed, snapping his fingers as shiny confetti popped out above the swaying poker cards, adding more colors to the earlier illusion, "Bingo!"

Conan blinked, "To which one?"

"Both!" The magician's eyes lit in fondness, "You really are the best detective."

Shinichi blushed a bit, scratching the back of his head, "But wouldn't they know if you got ahold of what they're looking for? Why are the attacks so spread out and random?"

Kaito bit into another cracker, using the time it took to chew to think out how much he wanted to tell him. "It's kinda special, what they're looking for. They're looking for a gem called Pandora."

"Pandora? Like the box that is either a gift or a curse?" Shinichi tilted his head, "But if they know what it is, why don't they just attack you when you specifically go after it? Or just take it themselves? Then again if it was lost or stolen in the past…"

"It's special. All that I know about it is that it is a large gem that glows red in the moonlight. It's said to grant eternal life to those that drink its tears." Kaito lowered his head, "They killed my dad so that he wouldn't get it. The worst thing is that he wasn't even after it. At least I don't think he was. From what I've heard, he was only a thief so that someone he cared about could retire." He left out the fact that the person retiring was his mom, the Phantom Lady.

Shinichi stared at him for a little bit, trying to figure him out, "But that couldn't possibly be real. Why kill someone over a mythical stone? As much as your tricks sometimes seem to be real magic, all they are are fancy tricks. Optical illusions, misdirection, a tip of a hat and the pull of a string."

"It is real." Conan looked up at him, brows knit together, mouth curving downwards, listening to him intently as Kaito clarified, "Magic is real."

"Kid…" Shinichi began, tense.

"Kaito, just Kaito would be fine, Shinichi." Kaito said, hoping Shinichi would return the favor of calling him by his name.

"Kaito." Shinichi said, testing it, Kaito smiled in response but the tense look on Shinichi's face didn't change, "Magic isn't real. You should know that better than anyone."

The cards in front of them dropped to the floor immediately, the coin fell on top of them will a dull thud, all the shiny lights that had been dancing around the walls disappearing in an unwelcoming instant. "I didn't say that my magic was real. Every performance that I do is a show. Tricks upon tricks to awe an audience that wants to be fooled. Real magic is the opposite. Bending and twisting people and emotions against their will. Forcing wills upon people that if they knew about the magic influencing them could only wish it was only a trick. There are a few kinds of magic. The only kind I've had firsthand experience with is red magic. I happen to know a sorcerous who has told me that Pandora is real."

Shinichi took it all in in silence, not fully believing in or disbelieving the creditability of the magician's words. Kaito continued, "It's not just small tricks like a bird appearing out of a hat. The sorcerous I know has the power to move a person from afar, affect gravity, change people's wills, fly, curse, voodoo, start fires, and command a flock of birds to fly above the clouds. These are all things that I have experienced firsthand. And let me tell you, being stabbed from the inside out during a heist by someone on the other side of town is _really_ unpleasant."

"Okay." Shinichi began, "I don't think you're lying right now. Whether I believe that magic exists just because you believe in it is a different story. For the sake of this conversation, let's say I do believe in it. Is this sorcerous your enemy?"

"Um…" Kaito thought back to Akako, to all the strange things she's done, "Well, no? Maybe? I used to think she hated me, but recently she's been helping me. She hangs out with Aoko and Hakuba sometimes which is pretty annoying. Especially since both Hakuba and her are just _positive_ that I'm Kid. They're wrong of course." Kid added, jokingly, "I think the only way she's a threat right now is because she might say something to make Aoko suspicious of me. Especially with the whole 'Kid Catching Club' she, Hakuba and Aoko are wanting to start."

Shinichi took in a disbelieving breath, "You're joking, right?"

"I wish." Kaito complained, "The worst part is that they're all dead set on me joining. Aoko wants me in the club because she thinks my knowledge about magic tricks would help figure some of Kid's tricks. Hakuba and Akako want me in the club just because they want to see me suffer! Terrible, right?"

Shinichi laughed noting away the name of the sorcerous in the back of his mind as 'Akako', "As much as you seem to worry about your identity being exposed, you sure seem to have fun with it."

"It's not fun, it's tiring." Kaito leaned back, putting his arms behind his head against the wall as a makeshift pillow, "They're constantly watching me, Hakuba leaves abroad pretty often but when he does come back all he does is talk to me about Kid cases and how interesting it is whenever he finds something that supports the whole 'me being Kid' theory. I was handcuffed to him for one of the heists and he's still sure it's me! At this point I just let him suspect."

"Handcuffed? Seriously?" Shinichi blanched, "How'd you manage to pull that off?"

Kaito stayed quiet for a few seconds, before breaking out into a grin, "My friend went in as me for the start of the heist, and partway through I limited Hakuba's motions to stay near the front room. Then my partner lowered sleeping gas through the vents to that room, being handcuffed to me made it so that he couldn't avoid the gas as well as normal, it knocked him unconscious as well as some guards nearby. I took off the handcuffs, switched places with one of the knocked out guards and switched clothes and faces with him. I completed the heist, handed the gem to my partner to escape with, and switched spots back with the guard from earlier. Then I put myself to sleep. When Hakuba woke up, I was still unconscious. Pretty good right?"

"You…" Shinichi shook his head, "…really are too good at what you do."

"You're pretty great yourself, Meitantei." Kid smiled.

Shinichi scratched his nose, "You think?" He considered himself a pretty good detective of course, it was nice to hear it from Kaito again. Kaito just grinned in response, patting Conan's shoulder. Kaito held up a finger in front of his lips to hush him. Conan raised a brow in response, before he eventually heard what the thief had, footsteps. Coming towards them from the next room.

"We should go get some ice cream sometime." Kaito said, bluntly changing the topic at hand.

Shinichi picked up what he was getting at, "Y-yeah, that'd be nice."

A knock at the door and the cards and coin on the floor disappeared instantly, the door opened to reveal Haibara. Without so much as a greeting, she stared at the guest in the house, before smirking, "You don't have to stop the conversation on my behalf. Go on, just pretend I'm not here."

Kaito sweat dropped at being caught, "It's okay, I think I should be going about now anyway. Thanks for the crackers."

Shinichi waved, "See you, Kaito."

"Shinichi." Kaito got up, brushing off imaginary dust, before doing a quick 10 degree bow in parting.

Haibara frowned at the interaction. Sighing as he left. "Do you really have to make friends with such troublesome people?"

Shinichi shrugged in his defense. He learned a lot about Kaito today. He really didn't seem like a bad guy, not that he ever suspected he was. Troublesome is a good word to describe him.

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

 **Thanks for reading! See you, next illusion.**


	3. 3rd Case

**You are all so nice! Thank you for reading the story. I hope it's good.**

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

Conan sighed, scribbling answers down on his homework lazily, it didn't take more than a minute. The longest answer was filling in his name and date on the paper, Conan Edogawa, April 30th. It had been a long day at school today, not because anything taught was hard, but because everything was so easy. Normally they did silly games and crafts to go along with the lessons, today was just lessons. It was beyond boring. He put his paper away before collapsing on his bed. An afterschool nap didn't sound like a bad plan right about now. He almost fell asleep in class more than once today. Last night's nightmare hadn't been that bad, but it was his first time where Kid made an appearance. A really _really_ unwelcome appearance.

The doorbell rang and he had a nagging feeling he knew who it was. It had only been a day! Doesn't he have heists to plan or something? That thief was really clingy. He didn't feel like getting up just yet so he let someone else answer the door. Being in the room right next to it made the conversation easy to overhear. The door opened and he could hear Haibara starting to speak.

"We don't want to buy anything, if that's what you're here for." Eh? That hadn't been the response he had expected.

He heard a short laugh, it was deep, but playful, "I assure you I'm not here to sell anything, I just came here to pick someone up for an ice cream date. I believe you were present when the arrangements were made?" Conan glaring at nothing in particular before getting out of bed. He quickly turned the corner, looking at the scene unfolding in front of him. The girl at the door, or Kid in this case, had on some light make up and a light blue dress on. She had a matching blue and white over the shoulder purse. She looked about 15 years old, but Conan knew that he was slightly older.

Haibara glanced between the two of them, before heading away from the door, "Well you heard her, move along, I'd rather not have someone as creepy as her standing at our door any longer. It gives me goosebumps."

Conan snorted, unable to stop the giggle that came from him. He tried his best to stop it but it just made him laugh harder. Kid glared at him causing him to wave at him, "Sorry, sorry it was just too funny. You didn't have to wear girl clothes you know."

"Well, someone said that how I normally looked was too eye catching around here. I thought I'd try something fairly new. Name's Yamamoto Aoi, nice to meet you little kid~." He winked at him before ruffling his hair a bit.

Conan sighed. "Look whose talking…" He put on his shoes grumpily, heading out of the door. He took in his surroundings, the fresh air reminding him that he was still alive, he turned to Kid. While he still couldn't say he was being careful, this was a lot better than the other day. He didn't seem to care how much Haibara knew about him either, not that he was about to tell her that Kaito was Kid of course. His cheeks pulled into a small grin, "Thanks, Yamamoto-neechan!"

Kid scratched his cheek, laughing cutely, much more cute than his normal character, "Of course, even I can afford getting some ice cream every once in a while. I have a pretty big allowance."

Conan wondered how used to pretending Kid was. Obviously he was a genius when it came to disguises, but how could he pull off such different personalities? That laugh was especially…never mind. When it came to acting, he himself was pretty bad at it. Yeah, he could put on a kid's face and act childish for a bit, but… Kid was on another level. They were walking down the street and Conan watched, slightly fascinated at the way he walked, legs swaying. Somehow shorter than he normally was.

"What?" Kaito asked, "Something on my face?" He pulled out a pocket mirror and checked, not really seeing anything, but more doing the action for show than anything else. He put his mirror back in his purse.

"Not really…" Conan shook his head, wanting to make some joke about his mask or makeup, but not feeling like running through a way to phrase it that wouldn't sound suspicious to other people. As cool as it was to see Kid artistically wear another personality, he missed the normal one. Even if it was still him underneath it. Well, whatever. Something was on his mind as he looked at Kid's legs though. Did he always shave them? Or just when he was about to disguise as female?

His pocket started vibrating and Conan sighed taking it out. It was Shinichi's phone. Kaito stopped walking and looked curiously at him. Conan adjusted his bowtie before picking up his phone.

"You didn't have to call this phone you know." Shinichi said.

Ran paused on the other side for a moment, "I know, sorry, it's just that I wanted to talk to Shinichi and before I knew it I was already…"

Conan glanced to the side, he knew that thief could hear every word. He smiled sadly, "It's okay, Ran. So what's up?"

"I…I, um, well." She seemed really nervous, he wondered if she was worried about him being mad at her for leaving so abruptly last time.

"It's okay Ran, you can talk to me." He missed the days when they would share everything, when they would walk home together, when they would goof off during lunch.

She took in a breath, probably trying to still her nerves, "I'm sure you already know about the event going on at Edoka Library next week, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go together?"

"Eh?" He blinked, "You mean the Sherlock Holmes one? Seriously, you want to go to that?"

"Geez, you're supposed to be more excited!" She complained.

Shinichi smiled, "Of course I'm excited, I just didn't thing you had an interest in Holmes." He appreciated that Kid wasn't becoming impatient, so he started walking again since the call might go on for a bit. Kid joined him with a small skip to his step.

"It's not that I _don't_ like him or anything." She trailed off a little at the end, "Besides it's something that you like so…"

His eyes softened, "I'd love to go with you, Ran."

He could hear a sharp breath on the other side of the line, "Y-You better show up this time! I was hoping we could go on Monday, maybe I could pick you at after school? Or we could meet there."

"Monday?" Shinichi blinked, "But wouldn't we have more time if we went on the weekend?"

"NO!" She interrupted suddenly, causing Shinichi to almost trip in surprise, Kid reached out his hand to grab Conan's, enveloping it like an adult would do to make sure their child would stay put. Conan sent an apologetic glance to Kid, who just grinned in return. "I-I mean, it wouldn't mean anything if it wasn't on Monday!"

Shinichi sighed, not understanding what she was so hung up about, "I can meet you there, is 4pm a good time? The library doesn't stay open very late so it'd be better to go early and I don't really need to go home before heading there."

"Yeah, 4's good for me. And you better be there this time, Shinichi!" She huffed.

Hey, it wasn't like it was _his_ fault that he couldn't make it to the some of the other things. She didn't know he was Conan back then. "Of course, see you, Ran."

"See you."

They hung up and Shinichi turned to the boy at his side, "You don't have to keep holding my hand you know."

"Ehhh?" He whined, "But I can't let go now, what if you trip, Conan-kun! I can't be responsible for something like that, our parents might not let us hang out anymore."

Conan couldn't help the very boyish giggle that came out of his throat at that. Kid brushed some hair out of his face with his other hand, grinning broadly at his victory.

"Ah, there it is. We're so close, Conan-kun!" Kid looked down at him, pointing to the new ice cream place down the road.

"Yeah." Conan didn't particularly feel like pretending to be more hyped than he was, especially when no one was really watching.

They went into the shop, Kaito cheerily tugging him along. As they went up to the counter, Conan noticed a group of friends to the side. One of the girls looked really sad for some reason, he couldn't help but notice small things like that. Why was she sad? She was smiling, but the way she was clutching her bracelet, the slight puff of her eyes, the hesitation to her laugh… Could her friends not tell that she wasn't fully enjoying herself? She seemed ashamed of something. There were light purple marks on her shoulder, partially hidden by foundation. Bad break up, she was probably the one who pushed away, Conan theorized. She kept typing something into her phone, he noticed the background was her, the girl beside her, and a boy. Probably the guy she just broke up with.

He turned back to Kaito, he was looking at him sadly-he had seen her too. Kid brushed it off with another smile, "So Conan-kun, what kind of ice cream do you want?"

"Vanilla!"

"Heh." Kaito replied, probably having already known the answer, he turned up to that cashier, "One scoop of vanilla and 2 double chocolate fudge please."

The cashier rang up their order, "That'll be 330 yen."

Kaito let go of Conan's hand in favor of grabbing some change out of his purse, "Here." The cashier handed them change and a receipt.

"Did you have to only get one bowl? It's pay per scoop, not per person." Conan asked, exasperated.

Kaito frowned at him, "You don't want to share with me, Conan-kun?" He looked like he was about to cry, goddamn him and his theatrics.

"I-I wasn't saying that, don't cry Yamamoto-neechan…We can share." He put on his best innocent face.

"Yay, I knew you would say that~!" Kaito cheered. He turned to grab the tray with their receipt number on it, the cashier told them to enjoy and they smiled with Kaito adding a happy, "We will!" back.

Kid grabbed some spoons on the way to a booth and handed one to Conan. Conan grabbed it and sidled into the booth, Kaito following in suit.

"You didn't have to sit on my side, there's a whole other one across from it." Conan scooted towards the window so that they weren't so close.

Kaito frowned at him, pouting, "But this makes it easier to share! My friends always sit like this when we go places together."

Conan rolled his eyes, thinking that the boy beside him could have easily made quite the living as an actor…or actress. It definitely paid more than being a thief who always returned the stuff they stole, anyway. Though Conan also knew that Kaito wasn't Kid for the money.

"Whatever." Conan shoved his spoon into the vanilla scoop, taking a small bite. It was really good, he glanced to Kid to see if he was enjoying his own ice cream only to see him smiling widely at him, ice cream untouched.

"W-What?" Conan stopped eating, embarrassed.

Kid scooped up some chocolate ice cream, "Nothing really, it's just nice to see that you like sweet things too."

Conan started eating his ice cream again, flustered, "Weirdo."

"AHHHH!" A scream from the other side of the café froze the two in the booth. Kid immediately got up, letting Conan rush through. They couldn't see anything from where they were, but a few more screams followed at the same time. They went up to the scene, Kid more off to the side, Conan going straight up to it.

"Asa-chan! Asa! Asahina!" A girl was frantically crying, holding onto another girl fainted on the ground. The others around them were looking down in panic. Conan cursed in his head, the girl on the ground was the one that was really sad earlier. She had half an eaten ice cream cone in her hand, smashed between her fingers.

"Someone call an ambulance!" The girl at her side yelled.

Conan's expression darkened, "There's no need. Call the police, she's already dead."

"W-what?" One of the bystanders asked, "B-but she was just laughing a few minutes ago, she couldn't be…"

The girl on the ground burst out into a second round of tears.

"I'm sorry, but this is probably a murder case. Please stay away from the body." Conan lowered his head.

"B-but, Asa-chan, she's—" The girl on the ground cried, unable to stop shaking. She got up, taking a step away from the body, looking at the girl on the ground in horror.

One of the other girls took hold of her arm, comforting her silently, unsure of how else to respond in a situation like this. The third girl took out her cell phone and called the police. They should be here soon. Conan frowned, looking behind him at Kid. He needed to solve this case fast, or the police would find out that one of the witnesses wasn't a real person and start looking into it. Kid gave a small, halfhearted wave. Looking all the part of an unfortunate girl caught up in this murder mess. If worst comes to worse he can just escape later, but the other girls would surely notice the absence and the police would question him about it.

Conan put his hand to his chin, he already was pretty sure he knew who the culprit was, but what was the motive? She seemed to have been killed by a poison that takes effect immediately. She was fine earlier, if a little shaken. But at that time she had already began to eat her ice cream. Was it already affecting her then? No, Conan shook his head. Looking at the three living girls comforting each other. Wait… he could have sworn…

He walked up to the group, "Arere? Neechan, did you not have an ice cream? Everyone else still has quite a bit left…"

Yukiko looked down at him, "Huh? Y-yes, I did, but I already ate it."

"She and Asahina-chan always share hers. They're best friends and Yukiko-san always orders her favorite, so…" The girl who had called the police said.

"Hmmm." Conan's glasses glinted as he lowered his head sadly, he looked back up to her, smiling for all the world to see, "I guess that makes sense! Hey were there any parts that Asahina-neechan really liked? Like the cherry on top, or the chocolate in the bottom of the cone?"

Yukiko looked down at him, fear in her eyes, her other friend replying for her, "Y-Yes, the bottom of the cone is her favorite part. Why are you asking about this? I don't think it has anything to do with…anyway, we should just wait for the police to get here."

"Please stop talking about her like this!" Yukiko cried, "She's right there, and we're just…" She burst out into tears, her bracelet clanging loudly. The two on her sides hushed her, one handed her tissues while the other wrapped her arm around her back in support.

A phone rang and he looked at where it came from on the table. The picture was of the guy in Asahina's wallpaper… Yukiko broke away from her friends to go grab the phone. She looked at who was calling and looked down at it in disgust, hanging up immediately.

This was… he walked back to Kid, to the side of the wall. Kid smiled lightly at him, "It looks like you figured it out, Meitantei."

"Yeah…" Conan frowned, "If I'm right about this, then this would be a really tragic case."

Kid crossed his arms, crouching down into a feminine knee hug, "Aren't all murder cases tragic? The fact that someone could hate another person enough to want to kill them. It's hard to wrap your head around sometimes."

Conan stood there silently in agreement, looking back at the girls. He could hear police sirens coming closer, "I need to be here to help them solve the case, but you should get going while you still can. It shouldn't be that big of a concern that a witness is gone after the case is already solved."

Kid looked at him in surprise, before frowning sadly, "I'm sorry, thank you." In the same instant that the front door to the café opened revealing Takagi and Megure, Kid disappeared.

Takagi saw him there and went over to him, "Conan-kun? Are you here alone?"

Conan nodded, "I was eating some ice cream. But more importantly, don't you have a case to solve?"

"Yes, well, do you know anything about it?" Takagi put his hands to his side, "You were here after all."

Conan tilted his head looking up at him brightly, "It seems that she collapsed after sharing some ice cream, but I'm just a kid so I don't really know the details."

Takagi sweat dropped, "Of course…Thanks, Conan-kun." He sighed, heading off to the scene.

It wasn't that Conan didn't want to give them hints the whole time so that they could solve it for themselves, it was just that Takagi was too suspicious of him for him to be that careless when Kogoro wasn't around. He let them collect evidence for a little while. It turns out that the ice cream in the diseased Asahina Tsukimori contained no traces of poison. There wasn't anything on any spoons or straws either. The police were stumped at how or why she had collapsed. It didn't seem like any kind of allergic reaction, it was too sudden for that. Her cell phone rang, it was the guy who had called Yukiko earlier and the police answered to ask his relationship with Asahina. He said that he used to be her boyfriend.

It was about time for him to put on his detective show, only question was who should he have do it? Takagi or Megure. On one hand Takagi might be suspicious of Megure suddenly falling asleep and solving the case, on the other if he used Takagi and he realized that his sleep wasn't a natural one, he might be in trouble. Having Kudo solve the case over the phone was out of the question right now, it would be unreasonable for him to have all the information. It was at this point that he decided to put Megure to sleep, he shot his tranquilizer needle.

"M-Megure-keibu?!" Takagi questioned as he collapsed.

"It's alright, I just figured out how the culprit committed the murder, Takagi-kun." Megure's voice boomed out.

Takagi's eyes widened, "Murder? But we don't even know what caused her death yet."

The girls squirmed at the word 'murder'. The girl who had called the police, Kotaru defended, "There's no way anyone would want to kill her! Asahina-san was always so nice, she didn't really have any enemies, I mean, she was just a high school girl."

"Not only do we know who did it, but we also know how it was done. It was indeed a murder case." 'Megure' explained. He continued, "Asahina died instantly, she didn't even have time to scream after she noticed, she just collapsed. We didn't find any poison in any of the ice cream at the table or in her hands, but what about the ice cream that _isn't_ there?"

"Ice cream that isn't there?" Takagi asked looking at the scene, "I only see the three…Ah!" He blinked.

Conan sighed, he wanted to get this case over with as soon as possible. There was no need to wait things out, "Yes, I see you noticed it too, Takagi-kun. There are four people here who were eating ice cream. Now, we know that nothing near her is contaminated, so the only possibility would be that she already ate all of the poison. Asahina-san and Yukiko-san were sharing another ice cream cone at the time. The ice cream that was poisoned was Yukiko-san's own. And the only person who could do something like this…was you, Yukiko Tagami!"

"W-what? But if that were true then I would be poisoned too! I ate just as much of it as she did!" Yukiko exclaimed, panicky.

Kotaru glared at him, "Yukiko-san would never do that anyway, they were best friends! Right Misa-san?"

"Yeah…" The other girl nodded.

"You wouldn't be poisoned if you only poisoned the part that she was guaranteed to eat. Something that you always let her have, perhaps? Like the fudge at the very bottom of the cone."

Yukiko's eyes widened at him, "What?! Why would I ever do that? We were best friends!"

A grunt came from Megure, "While you may have been best friends, does that not give you the most reason to carry something like this out? She was a big part of your life whether you wanted her to be or not. You shared everything together. You shared with each other your test scores, snacks, information about your crushes…You told her about one crush in particular, you liked the guy for a long time, after all. That's why when she started dating him you felt so betrayed. Betrayed enough to want to kill her, perhaps?" Conan hated doing this, Yukiko looked like she was about to puke, and her friends were starting to look at her suspiciously. Takagi's shoulders fell, a part of him still wishing that this was somehow an accident.

"You saw them time and time again, they seemed so happy without you. You couldn't gush about your crush anymore, and on top of that your best friend seemed to be hiding something from you. It became too much. Yukiko-san… I know you probably don't want to hear anymore, but it's important for you to know the truth." Conan lowered his gaze, fist tightening.

Yukiko glared at him, "What do you mean the truth?! You just keep spewing out a dumb theory, how dare you accuse me of killing my best friend!"

He cut her off, "She was trying to tell you."

Yukiko looked at him quizzically. He continued, "About how the guy you liked had threatened to hurt you. He knew how much you liked him, and she knew it too. He forced her to go out with him so that he wouldn't go out with you. He was abusive, physically assaulting Asahina-san on occasion, as you can see from the sloppily covered bruises on her arm. She put up with him so that you wouldn't have to. She didn't know how to tell you that the guy you looked up to this whole time wasn't who you thought he was. She put up with him for so long, and she could see the rift that was coming between the two of you. Last night she finally broke it off with him, she couldn't continue it any longer, not when her best friend was so hurt because of it. She wanted to tell you."

"B-but she loved him, that doesn't make any sense…" Yukiko shook her head, "Stop it… stop it…"

"When she first collapsed, you were crying, beside her immediately. Normally people would be in shock, it takes a little bit of time for the entirety of such a surreal situation to settle in. Your best friend had just fainted, yet you instantly yelled for someone to call an ambulance, how could you have such a sudden response? The answer is simple, you knew it was going to happen before it happened. You were waiting for it. You immediately regretted it, she _was_ your best friend. You wanted someone to get an ambulance, you wanted her to live. When Asahina's ex boyfriend called your cell phone, you hung up instead of answering. You felt guilty, ashamed, disgusted." Conan rested his back against the booth on the opposite side of Megure.

Yukiko fell to the floor, "But…she…she lied to me…she used me…she just wanted to get to him, she didn't…"

This was it, this was the end of the case, "Yukiko-san… Just before Asahina-san died, she was tightly gripping her bracelet. I'm assuming it's a bracelet you brought for her, you have a matching one on your own wrist." Yukiko looked down at her bracelet, tears escaping her eyes, "She was typing a long message on her cell phone while the four of you were goofing off. I think that she didn't know how to tell you in person, still, she wanted to tell you everything. That's what best friends do. I believe we'll find the proof in her phone. And the proof that it was your cone that poisoned her in her stomach. Takagi-kun…"

"Yes…" Takagi went to Yukiko, handcuffing her. She looked broken. Her friends were crying with her.

Takagi put a hand on her shoulder, "You're still young, after serving your time you can still start over. We'll make sure to charge her ex with abuse charges as well."

Yukiko sniffed, tears pouring down her face, "What's the point… She, she did so much for me, she was always there for me and I…Why didn't I trust her? Asa-chan's not here anymore...I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so _sososososososososo sorry_. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_."

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

 **Sorry there wasn't that much Kid in this chapter, I was originally going to have him be more involved in the case, but changed my mind. I hope you liked it anyway. Thanks for reading.**


	4. 4th Rose

**Hey everyone, thank you so much for reading so far. This start of this chapter is going to be from Kaito's point of view, but the rest will be from Conan's. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it, I was literally in a fit of giggles at the end for no explainable reason.**

Warning: DETECTIVE CONAN SPOILERS. Up to the Scarlet Arc(around episode 780 I believe). KaiCo/KaiShin.

KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo

"The only problem now would be how to get past the 3rd set of lasers…" Kid hummed to himself in thought, looking over a blueprint while mapping things out in his head. He wrote something down next to a nearby vent, easily thinking out a way around them. "…I wonder if Shinichi's going to be there…" He had sent out the notice yesterday, and the heist time would be on Saturday of next week. There was plenty of time to get ready, and plenty of time for Shinichi to figure the notice out. Unfortunately, the detective wasn't the most devote Kaitou Kid follower. He only showed up to 1 in 4 heists at the maximum, but now that they were hanging out would he go to more? Kid found himself really hoping he would.

Kaito glanced lazily at his phone. It was Saturaday, which meant there were still two whole days before he got to drop in on the little detective's Holmes date. He wasn't really planning to go until he found out that Hakuba was coming back to Japan on Monday. He's going to the exhibit too, and while Kaito didn't care what the detective did in his spare time, Aoko did. She was going on and on about how it had been so long since the last time he came back from a case or a vacation, and how she wanted to hang out with him when he first got there.

He really wanted to see Shinichi's face if he decided to just drop in unexpectedly. He was giddy just thinking about it, but he thought he really should check in with Tantei-kun before popping in. The magician knew he was testing waters with how often he was hanging around him, but he couldn't help it! His favorite critic was at the touch of his fingertips. And before he really thought about it, he found himself texting the little guy.

how did the case go?  
Kaito, 2:55PM

I'm not even going to ask  
how you got my number…  
I'm going to assume this  
phone is disposable.  
Tantei~kun, 2:56PM

Kid snickered to himself, at both the content of the response and at how quickly he had replied. He was using a practically untraceable disposable phone. It deleted texts set from and to the phone 2 days after they were first seen as well. He had Jii-chan's science buddy to thank for that.

but of course ^.^  
Kaito, 2:56PM

It went well, I guess. As far  
as cases go. It was a pretty simple  
case, the victim's best friend did  
her in. All over a big  
misunderstanding, too. I really  
wish people would just talk things  
out before grabbing a gun for once.  
Tantei~kun, 2:58PM

says the guy who left his  
girlfriend out of the loop  
for a year :p  
Kaito, 2:59PM

Hey, I'm being serious here.  
Besides, she's not my girlfriend.  
Tantei~kun, 3:00PM

Kaito blinked, he had always just assumed they were a couple, then again, him and Aoko were practically the same way. Childhood friends—really close to each other but not quite dating.

rly? does that mean u'r  
up for grabs?  
Kaito, 3:02PM

Maybe that was a little too bold, Kaito frowned. He stared at his phone for a little bit without getting a reply. He continued doodling plans onto the blueprints he had. Marking an area "Chicken Feathers" and drawing a sign in the next room, "Come catch me if you're not too chicken. –Kid" He felt like Inspector Nakamori would get a real kick out of that one. He turned to his phone when he felt a buzz a few minutes later.

What? No. I'm not "up for  
grabs". I grew up with Ran  
you know? I always just  
assumed that one day we  
would just be together.  
I used to dream about it  
all the time. Now that I  
know we won't work out,  
I'm not really looking for  
a relationship anymore.  
…Why are you asking,  
anyway?  
Tantei~kun, 3:10PM

just curious. so since it's  
not a date, would it be  
okay for me to go with  
you to the nerd con?  
Kaito, 3:12PM

The Sherlock Holmes event.  
Tantei~kun, 3:12PM

Kid chuckled at his immediate correction.

yeah, that.  
Kaito, 3:13PM

I don't really mind, but don't  
you have a heist to plan?  
Tantei~kun, 3:14PM

He slyly looked over his blueprints, so Shinichi _had_ seen his notice.

what do u think i'm doing  
right now? ;)  
Kaito, 3:14PM

… I shouldn't have asked…  
I'm going to go now.  
Tantei~kun, 3:15PM

awwww~ i'll see you  
monday?  
Kaito, 3:16PM

Come disguised. Ran  
will be suspicious  
otherwise.  
Tantei~kun, 3:18PM

Yaay! O.^  
Kaito, 3:18PM

Kaito tucked his phone away. He was pretty much done with his heist plans, so he didn't really have much else to do right now. After laying down for a while he ended up heading over to Aoko's, hopefully she would be as bored as he was and want to go do something.

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

Next to the Ekoda library sat a lone kid. He was sitting on a short ledge, kicking his feet in the air playfully. He had on a blue suit with a red bowtie, his glasses resting just above his nose, perfectly positioned. His backpack was hanging loosely off his back as if he had come there straight from school. To onlookers, he seemed to be patiently waiting for his guardian. Conan was really just impatiently waiting for Ran to hurry up so that he could look at the exhibits. It took all of his self-control not to enter the library right now. It was still a little bit before 4, since he had rushed here in his excitement.

He looked up when he noticed someone beside him, he always had a knack for sensing Kid's presence, and he knew before even seeing him that it was Kaito. Kaito took one last look at his make up in a hand mirror. He quickly applied another layer of lip gloss before tucking the gloss and mirror back into his sparkly bag. He was wearing a really short blue dress that showed off his legs really well. It clung to his shoulders and chest, making his small fake boobs pop. He also had small red bowtie earrings for the occasion. What the hell? How could he look so girly? It didn't make sense, he was too pretty to be real. Of course, while he knew beyond a doubt that it was a disguise, but Conan still couldn't help the small blush that adorned his cheeks as he stared. Kaito bent down, publicly noticing him, he smiled widely.

"Ah! Conan-kun, are you here to see the Sherlock exhibit too?" Kaito asked, feigning surprise.

Conan looked up at him, actually surprised at the voice. Kaito was smirking victoriously, making Conan blush more, he didn't notice it right? "A-ah, Yamamoto-neechan… What are you so dressed up for?"

"Tsk, tsk. That's the first thing you say to me? I'm dressing up for me, but a compliment wouldn't hurt." Kaito pouted, "Geez, this is why boys are so difficult. They don't feel proud to look pretty once in a while."

The deadpan look Conan gave him at that was priceless, and he smiled brightly back, "Well I guess it was a little for someone else. He said he didn't want to see me in my normal clothes, and then had the nerve to stand me up! Said he had some big case to work on. Can you believe him, Conan-kun? I think he's cheating on me."

"Yup, he's probably cheating, Yamamoto-neechan. You should find a new boyfriend." Conan piped up, happily playing along.

Kid put his hand on Conan's shoulder, "Right? I thought so." He sighed, "I wish there were boys my age as cool as you Conan-kun. I bet you would never break my heart. Hey what if we went out anyway? I could treat you to all sorts of adult things, like coffee."

' _Just what is he playing at? Besides, he had clearly been describing me as the guy who stood 'her' up. And what kind of 'adult thing' is coffee, anyway.'_ He thought to himself, ignoring the longing within him for a good cup of coffee. Conan gulped, nervously, "I'm just a kid, I can't date you. Sorry, Yamamoto-neechan…"

"Haah…" Kaito retracted his hand, "It was worth a try at least."

Kid was having way too much fun with this, Conan turned away. If he was going to tease him then he wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction of knowing that he was embarrassing him.

"It seems the young miss has noticed us." Kid winked, voice low enough that only Conan could hear, "So what should I do? Intrude on your date? If you don't mind of course. Another one of my friends came here, I can hang out with her if you want me to."

"Ran? Geez, I told you it wasn't a date, what's with you today?" Conan grumbled, a little curious about Kid's friend, he should have told him about them. Kaito already said his friends were suspicious of him being Kid, what if they realize he's hanging out with the boy who's considered his rival? He saw Ran approaching from the street, still a little ways away. Kid was quick to notice people. "Will you be able to stay disguised around them? Would it be a problem if we ran into each other later?" Ran was walking towards them curiously.

Kaito laughed, "Just who do you think you're talking to? It should be fine. I guess I'll see you later, Meitantei~kun." He stood up, starting to head away just as Ran got there. "Bye bye, Conan~kuuun!"

"Bye, bye Yamamoto-neechan." Conan waved back, annoyed that he had gotten caught up in the thief's pace.

Ran approached him, tilting her head, "A friend of yours, Conan-kun?"

"Yep!" He beamed childishly. While Ran knew who he was, they still needed to keep up appearances in public, so he continued to act like a child.

"I didn't know you knew someone so pretty..." Ran mumbled to herself. _'Hah, don't be fooled, Ran. That's a guy, it's all makeup and fake skin.'_ Though he still couldn't stop thinking about how Kid had managed to make his legs look so good, but that's besides the point.

"But I know you, Ran-neechan." Conan smiled, making Ran blush happily.

Ran waved her hand in front of her face, "Eh? I'm really not that pretty." She wasn't denying it too strongly though, "Let's go, Conan-kun." She took his hand and started heading inside, before suddenly realizing something and letting go, "S-sorry, it was just a habit."

Conan frowned, "It's okay…Ran-neechan." Part of him wished that he had never told her that he was Shinichi. He missed being able to support her as a little brother, even if the majority of the time he had been Conan he had considered her his special person. She was so important to him, and he wanted to be there for her. He's often wished that he had never turned into Conan, but almost as often had him finding himself wishing that he had just been born as Conan. That way he could grow up with such an awesome big sister, and not be someone who broke her heart. He could hang out with the Detective Boys, and maybe one day date Ayumi. Everyone could have been happy.

But if that had happened then he wouldn't have all of the memories he considers precious to him now. The Black Organization would probably be getting away with a lot more murders. Akai Shuichi would be dead. Haibara would be alone, having no place to call home. So many of the culprits he'd caught would still be out there. So many framed innocents would be in prison. Still…sometimes he would selfishly wish that he didn't have to deal with them. At the same time he knew that he wasn't the kind of guy who could ever leave a case open. He wouldn't let himself become the person who let murderers get away. The thrill of catching bad guys had started to become painful.

The sudden lonely swirl of empathic dread that filled his stomach made him want to reach out, to hold her hand. But he knew that that might be painful for her so he kept it to himself. He thought back to how Kid had held his hand without a second thought the other day, and suddenly wished he had stayed with them instead of joining his other friend. He shook his head at that, he was being silly.

They headed into the main room, the first thing they saw was a human sized Sherlock Holmes cutout.

"Ah! Look Conan-kun!" Ran pointed excitedly, "Do you want to get a picture with Holmes?"

"E-eh? No, I'm good." Conan waved his hands back and forth. The lighting in the library was bright, the picture would be too clear. He was wearing his summer uniform, there was no way his could naturally hide his face from the shutter. If it ended up in the wrong hands…

Ran frowned, excitement visibly lowering, "If you say so…"

Conan felt a buzz in his left pocket, a message to Conan's phone. He took it out to check.

r u ok?  
Kaito, 4:05PM

He smiled lightly, suddenly feeling better. He hadn't even noticed Kid's eyes on him. He had been too distracted.

Yeah. Thanks, Kaito.  
Conan, 4:05PM

He looked around, noticing 'Yamamoto-neechan' goofing around with Hakuba, who was dressed from head to toe in a Sherlock Holmes cosplay, and a girl who looked startlingly similar to Ran. They weren't being too loud since they were in a library, but his skill at lip reading had him unconsciously making out what they were saying. The girl's name was Aoko and she was complaining about how he had managed to look prettier than her. Hakuba was making pokes to him saying that this was why the task force couldn't decide if Kid was a woman or man yet and Aoko just seemed confused at that. Kid himself was nonchalantly brushing it off. He saw Kid look down at his phone, before looking up at him. Their eyes met, and Conan looked away, blushing at being caught staring. Kid was ridiculously good at paying attention to his surroundings.

"Aoko-chan…?" Ran asked, looking in the direction Conan had been looking. Conan turned up to her in surprise. Ran knew Aoko? When did that happen? "Ah, it really is! Do you know her Conan-kun? She seems to be friends with the girl you were talking to earlier…Let's go say hi."

"Ah, wait, Ran-neechan!" Conan hurried after her as she headed through the crowd. She was going pretty fast and he gave up trying to stop her and merely tried to keep up. When Ran got there she took Aoko's hand excitedly, causing Aoko to jump in surprise.

"As I thought, it really is you, Aoko-chan!" She smiled looking curiously over her shoulder at Hakuba, "Is this your friend, Kaito-kun?"

"Ugh…" Hakuba blanched, "Please don't confuse me with him of all people."

"Ah!" Aoko blushed, "Ran! N-no, that's Hakuba, Bakaito thought it would be a great day to cross-dress today, the idiot." She pointed at the girl in front of her, aka Kid.

"Huh?" Ran looked at him, confusedly. Conan and Kid shared a look as Kid winked at them. Ran blinked, "Wait, you're a…a…no way, but you're so beautiful, I thought for sure you must be a model or actress!"

Kid bowed down grandly, "But of course, disguises are but child's play to any true magician." He took her hand, kissing it lightly. She blushed, still barely able to comprehend the person in front of her. As he stood back up, a yellow hyacinth appearing in her hand.

"Wow…" Ran looked at it, her expression started as fascinated, but soon her brows came together and she looked suspiciously at the magician in front of her. Conan looked curiously, if he remembered correctly the meaning of a yellow hyacinth was…

"Hmm, an interesting choice in flower, Kuroba-kun." Hakuba piped in, "And what do you have to be jealous of Mouri-san for?"

"Jealous?" Aoko popped in, "Ah! A yellow hyacinth. Why'd you give her that, Kaito?"

Ah, so he had been right, Conan mused to himself. Kid shrugged it off, "It just happened to be what I had on me, there's no real meaning to it." Hakuba scoffed, indicating that he didn't believe him one bit.

"I don't get what she'd—oops, sorry-he'd have to be jealous of me for." Ran said still admiring the flower, "It's so pretty! Thank you so much. Oh I know." Ran smiled, looking down at Conan.

She turned back to Kid, "You two are friends, right? I saw you talking at the front. Could you do a magic trick for him? It's Conan-kun's birthday today, that's why I brought him here today, actually."

"EH?!" Conan jumped, putting a hand to his chin in shock, suddenly her inviting him out of nowhere made sense. And making sure they came here today, on Monday specifically. He took out his phone, checking to be sure. May 4th…oh God, he was so stupid, how could he have missed that?

Aoko looked down, "Awwww, he's so cute! He looks like a little Kaito. My name is Aoko Nakamori, happy birthday little guy!" _'Nakamori…? Oi, oi…you're kidding right? There's no way…'_ He glanced at Kid for a second before realizing that with Kid's luck...it was more than likely.

Kid stared at him, stunned for a brief moment before hiding it behind a poker face, making Conan wonder if he had seen anything else there in the first place. Hakuba 'hmmm'd, turning to him. "You're acquainted with the Kid Killer, Kuroba-kun?"

"Y-yeah, well I go to a lot of the heists, so we may have ran into each other once or twice. Isn't that right?" Kid gulped, looking just slightly suspicious. Conan wasn't used to seeing cracks in Kid's disguises, then again, he only really met him in professional settings before. Aka, heists.

"Yeah." Conan nodded, not wanting to bring up any heists in particular in case Kaito had pretended not to be at one.

Ran put a hand to her chin, "But how had he recognized you when you're dressed like a girl? Had you met him like that before?"

"Ah, but Ran-neechan," Conan started, "Kaito-niichan noticed me first, I wouldn't have known it was him if he didn't say hi to me in front of the library." Conan lied. He noticed Kaito's amusement at being called 'Kaito-niichan' and felt like this was not the time for him to be having fun with the situation. The careless idiot.

"Really?" Ran quirked an eyebrow at him. She knew just how good he was at deducing things so he couldn't really hide his lie from her. On the other hand she would probably think that he was just acting like a child because they were in public. It didn't really matter that she knew little things about Kaito, as long as she didn't see him. He knew that she would realize he was Kid if she saw just how similar to Shinichi he looked, and that didn't bode well for either of them.

"Pardon my rudeness earlier." Hakuba addressed Conan, "Happy birthday, Edogawa-kun."

"Thanks!" Conan smiled innocently. It unnerved him that Kid seemed to brush Hakuba off so much, he had seemed more than just a little suspicious about his identity. And with him being so close to both Kaito and his heists, he could easily find a way to swipe for a DNA sample or something similar.

"Anyway, Kaito do something! It's his birthday, you have to make it special." Aoko grinned, "You haven't had a real birthday until you see one of his magic tricks."

"Aren't you excited, Conan-kun?" Ran smiled down at him.

Conan looked up at Kid, not wanting to look too hopeful, he really did love seeing Kid's magic though, "Yeah…"

Kaito scratched the back of his head lightly, fake nails digging in his hair, "I can't really do much today, I brought as much as I could fit in my outfit and purse, but… I didn't realize it was you're birthday, most of the stuff I brought today is just make up…"

Conan's face fell a little bit, "It's okay…I didn't remember it was my birthday either."

"Auugh!" Kaito cried, "A magician is never caught unprepared, give me just one minute, I'll be right back!" Conan decided to ignore the fact that he was indeed caught unprepared today. Kid ran around, almost crashing into a Moriarty display but expertly maneuvering around it.

"Geez, the one time we need him to do some tricks and he doesn't have anything, that guy…" Aoko huffed.

Ran put her hands up, "No, I'm sorry for troubling him so much. It's just that Conan-kun looked so interested when he had given me a flower…"

' _Eh? I…had…?'_ Conan frowned, not realizing how intently he had been staring earlier.

Hakuba frowned at the interaction, "Is it just me, or did Kuroba-kun seem more flustered than usual?"

Aoko turned to him, "He's seemed normal to me, you're probably imagining things. Besides, he and Ran-chan have never met, right?"

"Never met, huh?" Hakuba smirked to himself, "Of course, sorry about that. I really was imagining things."

"Right." Aoko agreed. Conan couldn't help but think of the time Kid had pretended to be him on the blimp with Ran. Had Hakuba been thinking that he and Ran might have met when he was Kid? There were a few instances that came to the front of his own mind, but he didn't know how many Hakuba knew of. He surely knew of one of his earlier heists when Kid had disguised himself as Ran, but he disguises as a lot of people, there was no connection there. But Hakuba might think about it differently…

They all looked up at the sound of a quiet 'pop'. There was confetti sprinkling around, swirling through the air making a pathway between Conan and a cloud of white smoke. A red ribbon seemed to wrap itself around Conan's pinky, making him look around it in awe. He tugged on it, expecting for it to be caught on something, but it merely brought forth a balloon. The balloon stopped in front of him, and he looked around for some kind of wire to be directing it—he found none. That wasn't what was the most stunning about the balloon though, no not at all. He saw a single rose directly in the center of it. How had it gotten there?

He unconsciously reached out to touch the rose, but his hand hit the balloon instead, causing the balloon to pop. He froze, expecting a loud noise, instead of the loud 'bang' that usually came with a pop of a balloon, however, was a note fluttering out. It said "Shhh, no loud noises in the library." Conan chuckled at it, utterly amazed. He took the rose and admired it as he turned it in his hands, the center or the rose was tied to the red ribbon on his pinky. How had it disappeared earlier? Just as he thought that, the ribbon disappeared again, this time it was off of his pinky as well. _'A red rose…love. But, that doesn't make sense.'_ Conan shook his head, looking around at the remnants of the trick, lost in thought trying to figure it all out. As he turned to the side he could hear the gasps of both the people in the immediate vicinity and Holmes fans who witnessed it nearby.

"Happy birthday." Kid said quietly in English in his own voice, making Conan smile widely. _'This guy…he really… that was way too little time to come up with something like this.'_ He really was a magician extraordinaire…

Ran turned to him, "That was amazing! Wasn't it, Conan-kun?"

Conan looked up at Kid, unable to hide his wonder, "It was just a trick, Ran-neechan."

"Deductive geek, leave it to you to take the fun out of magic." She sighed before giggling, "Your face doesn't match your words, though."

He was honestly too awed to care. Aoko jumped up and down, "See? Isn't he so cool? His magic is way better than even Kid's."

"I wouldn't say better." Hakuba put a hand to his chin, "I'd say they're about the same." He smiled looking proud of some inside joke.

"Hey, I'm way better than that thief." Kaito growled, appearing behind them, still in his Yamamoto Aoi disguise.

Aoko frowned at him, "You really should change out of that, you look too pretty. It's bothering me."

"Why, jealous that I look better than you, Ahoko?" He jabbed.

"Hey! That's not it, Bakaito!" She huffed.

"Still…" Hakuba added, "I'm quite curious as to why you gave him a rose."

Conan turned to Hakuba at that, he was curious too. Ran tilted her head, "He was probably just low on flowers, like he said when he gave me one."

Hakuba shook his head, "But why didn't he give the rose to you and the hyacinth to Edogawa-kun? Wouldn't it make more sense like that? Kuroba-kun's not one to give out flowers mindlessly."

Aoko looked at the rose in Conan's hand curiously, making Conan unconsciously take a step back. "Now that you mention it…"

"Ahh, stop it." Kaito sighed, "I just happened to have a hyacinth on me earlier and could only find a rose when I left just now, you're all thinking too hard about this."

"I guess that makes sense." Aoko agreed, "Besides he's just a kid, and a boy no less. Red roses don't just mean love you know, they're also gifts for celebration and used often for decoration. Other meanings would have to do with romance, true love and seduction…none of which work in this situation."

Conan could feel his cheeks heating up in embarrassment, _'S-seduction? True love?'_ Why were they so caught up on this, anyway…

"A kid, huh…?" Conan turned to see Ran looking at him intently, her eyes widened when she saw him staring at her. Just what was she piecing together now?

"Thanks for the rose, Kaito-niichan!" Conan smiled up to him brightly, blush still apparent. "We have to go check out the other exhibits now, right Ran-neechan?" Keeping this group of people together any longer was a bad idea. They were all too smart for their own good, if they started to figure out that Conan had met Kaito as Kid… or that they were friends, or they showed a picture of Kaito to Ran, or so many other possibilities… Hell, knowing Hakuba, he'd probably find some roundabout way that even the rose could tie to Kaito's identity as Kid.

"Ah, r-right…" Ran gave Conan a questioning look which he ignored for now.

Kid smiled back, "Yeah, have a good birthday."

"I will!" Conan chirped, starting to head to the nearby Moriarty display.

Aoko frowned, "Ah, couldn't we check out the exhibits together? We're going to be checking them all out anyway."

"But I want to check out the Holmes event first!" Kaito complained, grabbing Aoko's hand towards the front of the library.

"You?" Hakuba blinked, "You want to check out Holmes over Moriarty?" It was clear that he was more than a little suspicious about the mere idea, but ignored it in favor of the chance his acquaintance might be becoming a Holmes-fan.

"Eh, but Kaito—" Aoko started before Kaito interrupted her.

"—c'mon already, it'll be fun!" He smiled, she nodded in response, surprised at his sudden interest. Kaito then proceeded to spend the next few hours bored out of his mind, narrowly avoiding running into Conan and Ran a few times during the rest of the exhibits.

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

Ran stopped when they got into the Moriarty room. There was a detective game going on inside. She pouted at Conan, lowering down to whisper at him quietly, "Shinichi…what was that about? The reason Kaito-kun wasn't showing his face was because he was Kid, right?"

Conan scratched at his head, everything about today was a bad idea! He knew Ran was too smart for this. Katio was being WAY too careless. "E-eh, what do you mean, Ran? He's just another magician right?"

"'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'" The irony of Ran quoting Holmes here was not lost on Conan one bit. "Kaito also happened to be the name of the magician who looked just like you that you met at the park. An Aoko-chan had said that you look just like a mini Kaito!" Ran rose an eyebrow, very unamused, "It's one thing to not tell me about him, it's another to lie to me about him. And besides, he dressed so prettily today and gave you a rose! He's not making you do anything weird is he? For one you're both guys, not that I have anything against that… but don't you think he could be using you? He's a thief, and even if your brain is that of an adult's your body is that of a kid's, I get that you wanted privacy and moved to the Professor's, but if he's doing anything…you know…" She trailed off, unsure of how to continue that sentence.

' _OH MY GOD.'_ Conan couldn't believe his ears. "Ran, can we talk about this later? It's not what you think. I'll tell you everything later, but this isn't the place."

She stared at him for a while, "Fine, but only because it's your birthday. Here…I know it's nothing compared to the magic trick earlier, but I thought you might like it."

Conan blinked, taking the present from her hands and opening it. He could tell it was a book, he opened it, reading the title as the paper was ripped away. "The Cuckoo's Calling…I've been wanting to read this for a while. It's written by that English author who wrote about that popular school of magic. Thank you, it was really thoughtful, I'll read it as soon as I get home."

"You don't seem as excited as when Kaito performed that trick…" Ran frowned.

This was the worst, today was supposed to be a fun day seeing other Holmes fans and talking about different theories. "No, it's not that, I just, I'm sorry. I really am excited." _'It's just that…'_ Kid had risked so much in befriending him, and now there were already two other people who knew his identity. Granted, it was mostly Kid's own fault. He still felt bad.

"Excuse me, miss?" Conan and Ran turned to the new voice. There was a little kid, holding out a card with stamps on it, "Have you two gotten to the third part of the riddle yet?"

"No, we haven't started yet, sorry." Ran apologized before looking at Conan, "But we can catch up and try to help you, right Conan-kun?"

Conan nodded. They spent the next few hours checking out the exhibits and doing all sorts of silly riddles as well as listening to many speakers speak their minds on what certain instances in the books could mean. They didn't run into Kaito and the others at all for the rest of the night, and Conan had to silently thanked Kid for making sure they didn't run into each other again. After the rocky start, the rest of the afternoon was pretty fun. Ran was genuinely enjoying herself and pretty soon Conan was geeking out over all the Holmes stuff. The riddles were a little too easy, and Conan found himself wondering how fast the Detective Boys would be able to solve them. Probably fast, they were incredibly bright for their ages. Conan ended up winning a small Holmes figure and after the library closed, Ran and him took the train home together. Ran didn't mention Kid at all the rest of the night, but Conan knew she wasn't about to drop the subject.

When he got home, he went to his room. His room was surprisingly chilly and he shivered. It was unnaturally chilly considering it was summer, even if it was late. Conan looked around his room, dropping his book bag on the floor and setting his new book on his bed. He was about to place his rose down when he notice the color starting to change. "What…?" Conan blinked at it, confused. The red melded into white. As the white appeared, red scribbles were shown on the petals.

 _Happy birthday, Shinichi._

 _Love, K._

He looked at it, unable to figure out just _how_ Kid had done that. He was pretty sure it had something to do with the cold of his room, but other than that… Not that he was going to give up figuring it out quite yet. He admired the stark white of the rose, tempted to rip at the petals to see what the rose's true color was, but not wanting to ruin the art of the gift. _'A white rose…'_ Innocence, secrets, dedication, loyalty. It this case it was probably referring to the secrets shared between the two of them. Not that they were all so secret anymore, Conan thought. At least he knew that Ran wouldn't tell anyone else without talking to him first. Then again, it was red first, secret love? Loyal passion? He shook his head, those made even less sense.

He sighed, _'Wait, cold…?'_ Conan put a hand to his chin, thinking back to when Kid had said that all he had on him earlier was make up. Being a disguise artist like him he was sure to have some rare kinds. When it comes to color and application, there are some shades that become lighter or darker when applied to skin because of the natural body heat. _'If you take that to an extreme…'_ He grinned broadly. _'But what about the words that stayed red? Did he paint all around them? His fingers are probably nimble enough… wait, but the way they trailed off...'_ His smirk widened, impressed, _'Not bad, Kid.'_

Conan turned to the window when he felt eyes on him, he went to open it, letting in the warm air—as well as a stray Kid. The rose started to change colors again, slower than when it faded. It was currently pink, working its way back to red.

"It looks like you figured out the trick already, Meitantei-kun." Kaito said fondly. He was wearing casual clothes, no longer dressed as a girl.

"It wasn't that difficult, I mean it would have tricked me better if you didn't decide to make my room 60 degrees on a summer night. It's too noticeable." Conan went up to sit on his bed, finding it easily the most comfortable place in his new room. "Still, it's pretty amazing for how little time you had to think it up."

Kid smirked, "'Amazing', huh?" He headed over to sit next to Conan.

"Well don't get too full of yourself." Conan frowned, suddenly serious, "Ran knows, that you're Kid, I mean. She had doubts as soon as you gave her the flower."

"What?" Kaito panicked, "She doesn't have any proof though, right? Why does she think that?"

Conan shook his head, "She's smarter than you'd think… she put two and two together and came up with four. She's certain and believe me, Ran's stubborn as a bull. I don't really know how to lie my way out of this one." And he didn't want to, either, after all the time he spent lying to her about his identity. He purposely left what else she had thought about their relationship in the dark. It was too bizarre, and he didn't want Kid to feel awkward or offended.

"I…see…" Kid sighed, his top hat appearing on his head as he fell back onto the bed, using his arms as a pillow. "Sorry that I didn't get you something better for your birthday. I honestly didn't know it was today."

"What are you talking about?" Conan followed his motion, laying back, his head resting against Kid's side, "I lov…ed…it…" He found himself unable to stay awake anymore, the mixture of all the stress and excitement of the day, as well as the lack of energy in his smaller body-made it impossible to stay awake any longer. If he had stayed awake, he might have seen the blush adorning the thief's cheeks at the statement. As well as the way he stilled when Conan had laid back with him, and if he had stayed up longer past that, he might have rethought the true meaning behind the rose.

 **KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo KaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCoKaiShinKaiCo**

 **I spent over an hour aligning the texting perfectly in the page so that it looked like Kid and Conan were texting each other on a smartphone, I didn't realize that would just push them all to the left and erase the arrows...**

 **I'm writing Kaito as pretty dependent in this fic because reasons, the only reason Conan hadn't sent him away earlier is because he also enjoys his presence. He also can see that Kaito really needs someone in his life that he can be real with. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's the longest chapter so far, it kind of had to be. A lot of stuff happened, and splitting it into two chapters would have been too short. I have a poll up on my profile page for some other story ideas I have, if you want to check it out.**


End file.
